Retirement
No, I am not retiring, I just heard this pretty strange story about a man's journey after retirement and I thought it'll be good to share it with you guys :) Also, there are parts of the story which I found weird, so I'll comment about them along the way as I tell it. AND YES IT IS A MORAL STORY :)
There was once this man who after 20 years of work went up to his boss and said he wanted to retire and go back to his family. (Yes, back in the day, people may leave their families for long periods of time and only go back after retirement) His boss, grateful for this man's service, asks him: "Sure you can go. But before you do I have 2 options for you: 1) You can collect your 20 years of salary or 2) I can give you 3 phrases of wisdom". The man decided to go and sleep over it and told his boss he'll choose the next day.
*Here's the first part which I found strange. Why in the world would you wait after 20 years of hard work to collect your first pay check? Shouldn't it be more of a bonus or something? and secondly, why does he need to think? Take your hard earned money and just read this blog for words of wisdom! :P Just kidding, but in all honesty, he should just take the money*
The next day, he goes back to his boss and says: "I'll take the 3 phrases of wisdom" (I personally don't know what this guy is thinking)
These are the three phrases the boss told him:
1) Life isn't easy, there are no cheap routes through life. Only through hard work and walking along the path can you reach success.
2) Do not be curious over things that you know are negative and unpleasant, it'll only bring you trouble.
3) Think before you act! Don't do something now which you may regret for the rest of your life.
On his journey back he encountered a fork in the road. He asked a pair of passer-bys about which route to take.
Passer-by A: "The first route is very long BUT extremely safe"
Passer-by B: "The other route is the shortest possible route BUT it is full of mountain bandits"
Now if I was gonna write an adventure story, he'll definitely choose the second route! right? Haha but since this is a moral story and he is a good man who listens to his boss (remember the first phrase of wisdom?) he takes the longer and safer route.
As night approaches, he heads towards a nearby traveller's inn for a good nights rest. (and here the intense stuff starts to happen) He hears a girl wailing and crying in the corridor. Every now and then this cry will turn into sobs for help and then the wailing begins again. The man was unable to sleep and wanted to go out to see what was happening.
Now here's another part which I don't agree with. Personally, I would just hide under the covers and shiver in fear. But being a good man, he reaches for the door....and he doesn't open it.
He remembered the second phrase that his boss told him and decided to go back to bed (I found this part quite interesting...I mean don't you wanna know what happened to the girl? and no this isn't a ghost story)
 |
| Curiosity killed the cat. The be over curious in life (especially when it's about negative things) |
The next morning, he woke up and when the owner of the inn saw him he was shocked! "You're alive?! It's a miracle!"
"err yeah. Shouldn't I be?"
"Last night, my mentally ill daughter got into one of her tendencies whereby she would start crying in the corridor to lure people out of their rooms and kill them!"
"oh...er...I should be going now" and the traveller rushes off.
*HOLD UP everyone. When I was told this story I was so stunned that I took awhile just to process what I just heard. This guy, keeps a daughter with homicidal tendencies, in his inn, where there'll be guest frequently...andand he is surprised when people actually come out alive O.O This is the part where the story starts to become strange. But yeah, the boss was right! Listening to his advice actually saved the man's life!* Let's carry on with the story...
Now he walks the last bit of the journey and reaches his home village, by now he has finished the first 2 loafs of bread and can't wait to share the third, last and BIGGEST loaf of bread with his family. But just as he was about to enter his home he hears a man's voice in his house! OHMYGOSH! and he hears his wife's voice too! DOUBLEOHMYGOSH! Is she cheating on him? I mean after 20 years I'm sure the lady would've gotten lonely... The man finds an axe (it's the olden days, there are axes everywhere to chop wood) and just as he is about to open the door....he doesn't.
What is with this guy? Well, he listened to his bosses 3rd advice, don't act rashly. So he calms down and just sits outside for the whole night thinking about what to do. (What a waste of time, he should've just gone in and see what's happening! But this guy's the 'hero' of the story so...I'll just let him be)
The next morning he enters his house and his wife is overjoyed to see him! 20 years of waiting is over and she's all hyper and crazy and happy and stuff! but he just gives her the stone face and asks: "Who's that guy?"
"The guy is our son! It's been 20 years! look how he's grown"
Good thing the guy didn't use the axe yeah? :)
Ok now that's the end of the story. Hoped you liked it! Now on to the moral part.
Apart from the laughter, the strangeness, the horror and the love but, Sit back and think through about what the story has actually taught you?
In life, we often think we know a lot and refuse to listen to advice. How many of you go through moments when you just refuse to listen to your parents? or teachers? yeah quite a number of us.
But if we think through what they tell us, is there actually any harm in listening patiently to their advice?
This story mentioned 3 morals. The first was about hard work. The second was on minding your own business (when it comes to negative things). and the third was on thinking before you act.
I'll elaborate more on these 3 points in my next few posts :) But for today's post, just take some time to think through and reflect over the advice and experiences that you've encountered this week.
Hope you had a great week! Do share with your friends and loved ones if you find the posts good! Thanks viewers! Always Lifting You Higher :)
No comments:
Post a Comment